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3 artificial intelligence share ideas
Darktrace
Darktrace is a relatively new entrant to the public markets and was born with AI at the core of its model. It harnesses these technologies to help businesses battle cybersecurity threats.
Having robust cyber security is no longer a nice to have, it’s become an essential service for most businesses. It’s already a $200bn market and we think demand is only likely to increase. Not surprisingly, management agrees. Full-year annual recurring revenue is expected to grow by around 30%. But tricky macroeconomic conditions mean there are some short-term headwinds to new customer additions.
The underlying product is a self-learning AI platform that can detect and respond to threats in real time. 99% of revenue is subscription based. So, unless something goes wrong, it’s a sticky revenue stream.
The end goal is to have customers take on multiple products, and trends are moving in the right direction – just under half of its customers are paying for four or more products.
We like the industry, and the product is leveraging new technologies with plenty of scope for growth. This is a relatively young business, with a valuation that’s relying on growth. However, profits are likely to remain slim while the business scales. That adds risk.
Results from Crowdstrike today, which beat estimates but reported slowing YoY revenue growth. The cybersecurity firm reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.57 on revenues of $692.6 million. That compared to $0.51 and $676.4 million anticipated by analysts. Despite revenues growing 42% YoY, investors are concerned about the deceleration from last year’s 61% growth. As did executives’ current quarter revenue guidance of $717.2 to $727.4 million, which was mixed vs. the $698 to $742 million consensus range. $CRWD shares are down 12% after hours
(Sharecast News) - Cybersecurity firm Darktrace tumbled on Friday after Bank of America Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of the stock with an 'underperform' rating and a "street-low" price target of 240p, which implies 18% downside potential.
BofA noted that the company primarily operates in the Network Detection & Response cybersecurity market but has been adding some capabilities in the Extended D&R (XDR) space.
"While revenue growth has been strong historically (48% in FY22) driven partly by its attractive interface, successful marketing and a highly effective salesforce, we expect growth to significantly decelerate (BofAe 18% compound annual growth rate of FY23-25e versus 23% cons) as: 1/ we expect much stronger competition in the next 12 months, 2/ weaker macro puts pressure on new wins as customers further consolidate providers, 3/ upsell potential remains unproven with limited success to date," it said
Just looking at the total buybacks which in n my opinion is insignificant, and no wonder it's not having any effect on the share price.
Shares outstanding: 722,930,000 - bought back 13,131,925 which is slight over 1.8% of the total.
The following from a poster named Bluebear1 on ADVIFN
From Investor Relations, ASOS:
"In relation to your enquiry, when we updated the market with our Interim Results on Wednesday last week (which can be viewed here: https://asos-12954-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/files/8216/8369/7899/HY23_Results_Statement_-_FINAL_10.05.23.pdf), we outlined that we have a robust and flexible balance sheet, and were pleased to have amended and extended our existing £350m revolving credit facility through to November 2024.
As such, the extension secures ASOS’ funding beyond FY24 (the next fiscal year after this one), supporting the business as we continue to execute on our Driving Change agenda and return to profitability and cash generation. For further context, we ended H1 FY23 with cash and undrawn facilities totalling £409m at what is typically the seasonal trough in our net working capital cycle.
In the RNS, we announced that we are on track to deliver our full-year targets over £300m of Driving Change agenda benefits and that we remain very confident of our return to sustainable profit and cash generation in H2 FY23 and beyond.
We are aware of intra-day movements in our share price, and I would like to assure you that we take our disclosure obligations to the market extremely seriously. If there were ever any information relating to a share price movement requiring an RNS disclosure in line with the Listing Rules, then we would of course make that disclosure.
More broadly, we are confident in the progress we are making to accelerate the changes needed to transform ASOS into a sustainably profitable and cash generative business. Against a challenging backdrop, we have achieved a great deal in this period of reset and are well positioned to return to profitability in H2 FY23 and beyond. While there remains much to be delivered in the next few months, we are confident that ASOS will exit the year a more resilient and sustainably profitable business.
We are grateful to all our shareholders and would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your ongoing support."
2 News article in USA re Darktrace:
https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/inbox/id/AQMkADAwATY3ZmYAZS1lNzk0LWJlMGItMDACLTAwCgBGAAADGZoAR6fQpUyGRQViKSX4%2BgcAxcJDUs51DUy6iNQwoXQJRAAAAgEMAAAAxcJDUs51DUy6iNQwoXQJRAAF70Kd7gAAAA%3D%3D
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/20/darktrace-hires-ey-to-review-financial-processes-after-short-seller-report.html
MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Backing currency trader could start your cash rising - Argentex looks after businesses, financial firms and the wealthy
By JOANNE HART, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 21:51, 3 December 2022 | UPDATED: 14:29, 4 December 2022
The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with more than £5.5trillion of currencies traded every day, far exceeding stock and bond markets.
Many trades are purely speculative, as banks and brokers bet on the direction of certain currencies.
But currency markets also provide an essential service for anyone who works regularly with customers or suppliers from abroad.
Argentex operates in a specific area of this vast industry – looking after businesses, financial firms and the very wealthy, who want more than is on offer from their high street banks.
The firm floated on AIM in June 2019 at £1.06 and its share price had risen to more than £1.60 by January 2020. Then the pandemic hit.
Argentex shares lost their way, the firm had a couple of wobbles and the stock fell to below £1 earlier this year.
But chief executive Harry Adams used the Covid downturn to strengthen his business and the results are starting to come through. Sales are growing fast and the shares are now above the flotation price once more, at £1.19. They should continue to gain ground.
Adams founded Argentex in 2012. Then a 30-year-old foreign exchange trader in the City, he spotted a gap in the market.
Huge multinational firms could use top investment businesses to sort out their currency needs, while holidaymakers and small businesses could use high street banks, post offices and bureaux de change. Mid-sized firms were in a bind. They wanted more than traditional banks could give them but were too small to be of interest to major foreign exchange specialists.
Fortunately for Adams, his currency clients included the billionaire Sir John Beckwith. He backed Argentex from the start and his family office, Pacific Investments, remains a 14 per cent shareholder. The investment has proved sound.
From nothing a decade ago, Argentex has nearly 1,400 customers, including supermarkets, carmakers, oil producers – even flower importers and motorbike manufacturers.
Many of these firms have complex foreign exchange needs. They may be exporting to or importing from several different countries. They may be buying goods from one part of the world and selling to another. They may want to lock in rates months or years in advance. Above all, they want to know that they are in capable hands.
That is where Argentex comes into its own. The group adopts a private banking approach to its customers, taking time to understand their business so they can offer tailor-made advice and service, however complicated or unusual the demands.
Adams does not indulge in speculative trading or trading on its own account. Instead, Argentex focuses purely on customers' present and future currency needs, minimising foreign
The all-important number at Petrofac continues to be the order book. The company's future depends on the fortunes of the wider oil sector, over which it has no control, but has been booming lately. With a price/earnings ratio some way above the long-term average, the market's expecting a sharp recovery. It looks like the group's firmly on that path, albeit at a slower pace than initially expected. Given the current volatility, sooner would have been better and management's subdued forecast doesn't fill us with confidence. With that in mind, we think caution is warranted.
Petrofac key facts
Forward Price/Earnings ratio: 22.4
10-Year Average Price/Earnings ratio: 9.5
Prospective dividend yield (next 12 months): 0.5%
All ratios are sourced from Refinitiv. Please remember yields are variable and not a reliable indicator of future income. Keep in mind key figures shouldn't be looked at on their own - it's important to understand the big picture.
Petrofac - free cash outflow expected at full year
Sophie Lund-Yates, Equity Analyst | 26 May 2022 | A A A
Petrofac - free cash outflow expected at full year
No recommendation
No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal. All investments can fall as well as rise in value so you could get back less than you invest.
Petrofac Ord USD0.02
Sell: 149.60 | Buy: 149.90 | Change -4.10 (-2.65%)
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Petrofac has said it's experiencing near-term headwinds in its Engineering, Procurement and Construction projects. This reflects the ongoing effect of the pandemic on progress, costs and the timing of payments. Older projects closer to being finished in Engineering and Construction are also being affected by inflation, because of cost over-runs and unfavourable pricing terms.
Despite a stronger performance elsewhere, this means Petrofac now expects to report a "modest" free cash outflow for the full year.
Shares fell 5.2% following the announcement.
VIEW THE LATEST PETROFAC SHARE PRICE AND HOW TO DEAL
Our view
With the SFO investigation concluded, this was meant to be a time to rebuild. But the pandemic's thrown a wrench in those plans, pushing any hope of a material rebound further into the future.
The group seems to be moving in the right direction under new CEO Sami Iskander, with a focus on winning new contracts and rebuilding the order book.
The core engineering business continues to struggle against elevated covid-related costs, which holds margins back. Plus, order intake wasn't as robust as the group had been hoping at the full year, as clients were tentative about loosening the purse strings. It looks as though the absolute worst is over, but more recent news of lingering issues and inflation related headaches, means a full rebound this year is a lot less likely. The group's Russian tie-ups shouldn't impact performance severely, with just 0.6% of the value of current contracts exposed to the region.
Last year the group was bidding on $54bn of projects due for award before the end of 2022. Having won $2.2bn in 2021 the group now has $37bn of new business due for award by the end of 2022. That suggests a win rate of 4-13%, which in our view is tepid at best. Having Saudi Arabia and the UAE back on the table could help the order book, though.
The pressing need to win business could lead to overly aggressive bids for what contracts are available, boosting revenues at the expense of margins and profits. That's an age-old problem in the construction sector and one Petrofac needs to avoid.
The all-important number at Petrofac continues to be the order book. The company's future depends on the fortunes of the wider oil sector, over which it has no control, but has been booming lately. With a price/earnings ratio some way above the long-term average, the market's expecting a sharp recovery. It looks li
A letter from Business Secretary re North Sea Oil & Gas
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1072674/20220430_SoS_to_OG.pdf
A reassuring letter from Business Secretary re North Sea Oil & Gashttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1072674/20220430_SoS_to_OG.pdf
Most of you are complaining about an individual who is incessantly posting on this board. The answer is very simple:
1) Do not ever mention his NAME in any circumstances on this board.
2) Do not ever COMMENT directly or indirectly on this board or even refer to any of his postings
He is an attention seeker; he likes to see his name mentioned. You are all feeding him, if you cut off his supply I Promise you he will soon stop.
It's all a put up job, he is playing with you lot and having fun. You are all taking him seriously, he is not a investor or have any shares in PFC.
Darktrace raised to overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler
ColonelDrake
Excellent summary
In order to to drop our of FTSE 250 you have to be below £618 million
Promotion - 3 candidates (potential):
Electrocomponents (ECM) Market capitalisation 5,867 million
Dechra Pharma (DPH) “ 5,762 million
Howden Joinery (HWDN) “ 5,474 million
Relegation - 3 candidates (potential):
Darktrace (DARK) Capitalisation 3,683 million
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) “ 4,366 million
Pearson (PSON) “ 4,766 million
In order for Dark to survive, the share price to be at least £6.88 (market capitalisation £4,807 million)